Tony Truscello was in attendance at Yankee Stadium that historic night in 1977 when Reggie Jackson crushed three home runs in a World Series-clinching game. He was there, too, when Chris Chambliss’ walk-off homer delivered the Yankees an American League pennant a year earlier.

By his side for both, and probably a hundred other memorable occasions in that ballpark, was his father.

“Going to games with my dad was always something special,” said Truscello, a former Beacon High School football coach who retired earlier this year. “Growing up, so much of our bonding was done there. As silly as it sounds, whenever I go there now, it’s like I can feel his spirit.”

That, in part, is Truscello’s impetus for running the Runyon 5K at Yankee Stadium next week. The 3.1-mile race is held with the purpose of raising awareness and funding for cancer research.

“He was the age I am now when he passed,” Tony Truscello said, “so it's made me think back and take inventory of my life.”

While browsing online for Yankees tickets in the winter, he came across a promo for the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, which is hosting the run for the 10th time at Yankee Stadium on April 15.

Truscello was immediately struck. He signed up, then selected the option to organize a team of runners. He first rallied his wife, sisters and children to join. Then, thanks to a Facebook post, got about 30 additional people to sign up and donate.

Beacon football coach Tony Truscello alongside his father, Joe Truscello, at his college graduation.(Photo: Courtesy photo)

His team, named “For my Dad,” will be among the third group of runners who begin at about 9:50 a.m. next Sunday. The course carries through the stadium's concourses and ramps, upstairs between levels, and ends on the outfield warning track.

The Yankees that day will be on the road against the Detroit Tigers.

“We are grateful to people like Tony, who rally up large teams for this important cause,” said Lorraine Egan, president and CEO of the Runyon Foundation. “The donations from the 5K will directly support brilliant scientists racing to make the next big breakthrough against cancer.”

The charity was founded in 1946 in honor of Damon Runyon, a former newspaper reporter and author. The 5K historically has drawn about 2,000 participants each year and, Egan said, raised more than $5 million since it was established.

“There isn’t anyone who doesn’t know someone who’s battled or at least been affected by the disease,” said Truscello, who also referenced Donna Pedersen, a school nurse at Rombout Middle School in the Beacon district who died of cancer in December. “This is something we all have to face on some level, so every contribution counts.”

Truscello’s team of 40 thus far has raised more than $1,600 and Joseph Truscello’s photo will be among those displayed on the Stadium scoreboard during the event.

Joe Truscello poses with his grandson, Joseph Truscello, at a Yankees game in 1989.(Photo: Courtesy photo)

“That’s going to be really special to us because it’s a place he treasured,” Truscello said. “The Stadium was like hallowed grounds to him, so having his loved ones be on that field and his face up on the board, I know that’d bring a smile to his face."

This, of course, isn't the old ballpark that Truscello's dad knew. The organization debuted a new stadium in 2009. "It's still Yankee Stadium," Truscello said. "We'll take it."

We should also note that Truscello is not a runner. At all. He grew up playing baseball and football in New Jersey, but said running always was his “least favorite” part of sports. He admitted he likely will end up walking the bulk of the three miles. His wife, Judy, is an avid runner and she said she long ago gave up on trying to cajole him into making it a hobby.

In fact, the last time he ran long distance, he went three miles along the Jersey Shore. That was in 1985.

“We got married in 1986,” he said with a chuckle. “Back when we were dating, I’d run with her and try to make myself look good. Once we sealed the deal, nope.”

Judy Truscello, 58, runs at least three times each week and her husband often accompanies her, walking behind in the distance. She also competes in half marathons.

Two of their children, Thomas and Danielle, are runners and will participate in the Runyon 5K.

“This will be really special to him, especially with the people he’s enlisted,” Judy Truscello said. “It’s a lot of family and friends, and it’s in honor of his father. He talks a lot about his father, so I know this will mean a lot to him.”

Anthony Truscello migrated to the United States from Italy in the early 1900s and, in attempt to adopt American culture, got himself into baseball, following the Yankees. His son, Joseph, would become immersed in the sport, idolizing Joe DiMaggio. That love for the game, and that team, would then be passed on to Tony Truscello.

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Beacon High School football coach, Tony Truscello, goes over plays with his offense during a preseason practice in August 2016.(Photo: Patrick Oehler/Poughkeepsie Journal)

Judy Truscello is a Mets fan, but they have reached an accord and there are no sports arguments in the home, she insisted.

Tony Truscello grew up in Carlstadt, New Jersey, near what was then Giants Stadium, and about 20 minutes from the Bronx. Game tickets were much cheaper back then, as was the George Washington Bridge toll. (It once was 50 cents, as compared to $15 now.)

“Altogether, it used to cost about the same as going to the movies,” Tony Truscello said. “My dad ran a dry-cleaning business so we weren’t rich, but the games were affordable and we lived close, so we were at the stadium all the time.”

Before moving to the Hudson Valley and becoming a teacher, Truscello as a young man worked for his father. Every morning at the cleaners would begin with the sports section of a newspaper and discussions of the Giants and Yankees throughout the day.

“The thing about sports with your dad, the conversations would lead to something deeper,” he said. “We’d be talking about games and, before you know it, we’re sharing intimate thoughts of real-life stuff. Sports plays a role in bonding, beyond just cheering for a team.”